|
|
|
Keep The Holiday Fires Burning
|
|
|
The History of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Beginning with Clement Moore's poem, The Night Before Christmas, Santa Claus was said to drive a sleigh driven by eight tiny reindeer. The idea of a sled drawn by reindeer probably comes from the Finnish folk figure, Old Man Winter, who arrives in a sled. The eight reindeer may originate with the eight legged steed of the Norse God Odin, who also was prone to leaving presents for children. The ninth reindeer, Rudolph, was the invention of a Montgomery Ward advertising copywriter named Robert May. For years, Montgomery Ward had distributed coloring books at Christmas as a promotional gimmick. The promotion, however, had become expensive because Montgomery Ward was purchasing the books from another vendor. In 1939, Montgomery Ward executives -- seeking to take the whole operation in house and save money -- asked May to create an original story and book. May later said that the Rudolph storyline drew from both the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, The Ugly Duckling, and his own experiences as a child. May apparently was undersized and picked upon by his schoolmates. May's original story is quite different from the tale we know today. In May's version, Rudolph was not one of Santa's reindeer, but lived elsewhere with a loving mother and father. Ostracized by his peers, he nonetheless managed to maintain his sense of humor and self-esteem. Rudolph became a member of Santa's team when he is accidentally discovered by Santa as the jolly old elf is delivering presents to his house. The night is particularly stormy, and Santa invites him to use his red nose to lead the team. The original artwork for the coloring book was created by another Montgomery Ward staffer, Devnver GIllen. Ward gave away 2.4 million copies of the Rudolph book in 1939. By 1946, more than 6 million had been distributed (wartime paper shortages reduce the number of books Ward could give away). In 1947, May, beset by bills left over from his wife's terminal illness, managed to convince Montgomery Ward executives to assign him the copyrights. As an employee of Ward's, May had previously not collected any ownership on the project. With the copyright in hand, May set about promoting his product. A cartoon short was made in 1947. And in 1949, May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote the now-familiar song. It became a major hit when it was recorded by Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy. To date, more than 12 million copies of Autry's version have been sold. The song has had a life of its own, selling 160 million recordings by 500 different performers. In 1964, Rankin-Bass studios released Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" using the Animagic stop action process. Marks wrote more original songs, including Holly Jolly Christmas, Silver and Gold, We Are Santa's Elves, and Jingle Jingle Jingle. Folk singer Burl Ives played the voice of the narrating snowman, and sang the title tune, Silver and Gold, and Holly Jolly Christmas. For those of you who aren't old enough to have seen Burl Ives, he looks an awful lot like the snowman. (He also stars in one of my favorite westerns, The Big Country). The show originally was released as a part of the General Electric Fantasy Hour. It is said that GE insisted on using Ives as a part of the special. The character of the snowman was not a part of the orginal plan, and his songs were sung by Yukon Cornelius. It is with this television special that May's original story was lost. Romeo Muller was hired to modify and add to the original tale. It is his version that we know today. Rankin-Bass' Rudolph has been shown on television every year since 1964, making it the longest running television special. Two sequels were made, 1976's Rudolph's Shiny New Year narrated by Red Skelton, and 1979's Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July. |
 |